NJ facilities got drug tied to meningitis outbreak

TRENTON (AP) — Six medical facilities in New Jersey received the steroid medication being investigated in a fungal meningitis outbreak that has claimed four lives in other states, health officials said Thursday, as they began investigating whether anyone has been stricken by the illness in the state.

Patients who may have received the injectable steroid are being contacted by the facilities, either outpatient pain centers or doctors’ offices, said Donna Leusner, a state Health Department spokeswoman. As of Thursday, she said, no cases of the rare form of meningitis had been reported in New Jersey.

The steroid at the center of the investigation is used mostly for back pain. It was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts that issued a recall last week.

New Jersey officials have told facilities to halt any use of the drug. They would not identify the facilities, saying only that the investigation was ongoing.

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As of Thursday, 26 cases of the illness had been reported in five states — Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Florida and North Carolina.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include severe and worsening headache, nausea, dizziness and fever. Some of the patients also experienced slurred speech, and difficulty walking and urinating, according to health officials in Tennessee, where the most cases have been reported.

Fungal meningitis, which is not contagious like more common forms, is treated with high-dose antifungal medications, usually given intravenously in a hospital.